Postgame thoughts...

[GophersInIowa]

1. I thought it was stupid to spike the ball late in the first half. We had just gotten a first down with about 30 seconds left. It was first and goal and we had one TO left I believe. We should have had plenty of time to get up to the line and run a play. The clock had stopped. By spiking the ball, we had only two shots at the end zone instead of three.
2. On the Maxx Williams TD, the play totally should have been blown dead. The snap came way late and half the line had move well before the ball was snapped.
3. I didn't understand why our corners weren't playing tight on the line of scrimmage. It was just way too easy for them to nickel and dime us down the field. They showed no ability to throw down field.
4. I don't remember who the CB was on the 2nd UNLV TD (Shabazz?), but he totally gave up on the play and didn't even see the ball until it was almost in the endzone. If he wouldn't have given up and saw the ball right away, it would have been an easy pick.
5. Maxx Williams is good.
6. For awhile there, I thought the refs forgot their flags at home. Then they called a weird illegal man down field on Christenson. The only guy down field was Bak and he got shoved 5 yards down field by a defender. Unless I missed something, it was a bizarre call.
7. I was surprised Roderick Williams didn't play until late.
8. I'm stating the obvious, but the OL/run game was easily the most disappointing to me. The pass game was terrible as well but most expected that we would struggle there. I thought we would be able to run all over UNLV.
9. The Juco LB's looked very promising to me. They may have been out of position a few times but both will be very good contributors.
10. There is no doubt we have a lot more athletes than we have had in some time. Athletes don't automatically get you wins, but they can make big plays and that certainly was the case tonight.
11. Leidner is faster than I imagined. I know it was against 2nd teamers but still.
12. It was good to get a lot of guys playing time. Let them all get their feet wet so the "butterflies" aren't there when they have to step in for an injury.
13. Hawthorne did not look good. Even some of the XP he made looked pretty shaky.
14. Vereen could have an all-conference type year.

That's it for now. Good win but a lot of things to work on. Good thing the Big Ten isn't stupid like the SEC and schedule conference games in week 1. On to New Mexico St!

 

[MNVCGUY]

Right there with you on pretty much all of those.

15. Defensive line had a disappointing game overall. All those pass attempts and just one sack. Also was surprised by how basic the UNLV offense was.
13b - Punting wasn't great either but coverage units were solid. Kickers could be an adventure this season. Bring on the Big Kid.

 

[BarnBoy]

15B. They were doing a lot of quick passes. 3-step drops, etc. Hard to get sacks. We got a handful of knock-downs. Did they have any long passes down field? Can't remember.

 

[GophersInIowa]

Right there with you on pretty much all of those.

15. Defensive line had a disappointing game overall. All those pass attempts and just one sack. Also was surprised by how basic the UNLV offense was.
13b - Punting wasn't great either but coverage units were solid. Kickers could be an adventure this season. Bring on the Big Kid.

I think they provided good pressure at times, it was just hard because they threw so many short, quick passes. They averaged just 6.4 yards a completion.

Another one I just thought of:
16. I thought the Nelson INT was just as much on Engel as it was on Nelson. He made no attempt to go and get the ball. Yes it was under thrown but the WR has to make an attempt as well.

 

[Gopher028]

3b. It was like watching us vs Iowa circa 2010 with Cosgrove at the helm. We played so soft all they did all night was slants, outs and hooks, and played pitch and catch
as much as they wanted to. Seriously, 7-11 yards off the line of scrimmage?! It should have been adjusted to 3-7 yards and never was. If they don't fix that, San Jose St. and
Iowa are going to torch us with 10 yards of cushion.

 

[RashoLives]

17. The student section showed up in a way they haven't seemed to in recent years. It was hot at the game today and uncomfortable for most but the students sure showed up the rest of us with their energy early. It would be nice if we can get anything close to that energy moving forward, plus perhaps a bit more coordination.
18. Nelson looks like sophomore year Weber out there (I'm not baiting I swear)
19. There is more speed on this team than I can ever remember. Jones was impressive on the kick return but his speed was even more evident chasing down a ball carrier from behind. Maye looks shifty and quick if not fast. Boddy, Vereen and Thompson had some make up plays where they were able to play back into position quickly despite not pressing the line at all presnap, and as was mentioned even Leidner was surprising with his speed.

 

[Indi1006]

Our DL was not good rushing the passer. Yes, on the quick passes it's tough but the statue of a QB they fielded also ran aounrd back there way too much we should have taken his head off a couple of times. It needs to get a lot better. I don't think our DEs are very good quite yet; probably this year our weakest link on D. Last year our LBers deservedly so took a lot of grief for our problems stopping the run but our DEs also have a hell of a time holding the line on the edge and making plays and today they had 50 some opportunities to get after the QB tonight and really didn't do much at all. It needs to get better but I'm not sure we didn't play up to our potential at DE which is a little scary.

 

[cncmin]

1. I thought it was stupid to spike the ball late in the first half. We had just gotten a first down with about 30 seconds left. It was first and goal and we had one TO left I believe. We should have had plenty of time to get up to the line and run a play. The clock had stopped. By spiking the ball, we had only two shots at the end zone instead of three.
2. On the Maxx Williams TD, the play totally should have been blown dead. The snap came way late and half the line had move well before the ball was snapped.
3. I didn't understand why our corners weren't playing tight on the line of scrimmage. It was just way too easy for them to nickel and dime us down the field. They showed no ability to throw down field.
4. I don't remember who the CB was on the 2nd UNLV TD (Shabazz?), but he totally gave up on the play and didn't even see the ball until it was almost in the endzone. If he wouldn't have given up and saw the ball right away, it would have been an easy pick.
5. Maxx Williams is good.
6. For awhile there, I thought the refs forgot their flags at home. Then they called a weird illegal man down field on Christenson. The only guy down field was Bak and he got shoved 5 yards down field by a defender. Unless I missed something, it was a bizarre call.
7. I was surprised Roderick Williams didn't play until late.
8. I'm stating the obvious, but the OL/run game was easily the most disappointing to me. The pass game was terrible as well but most expected that we would struggle there. I thought we would be able to run all over UNLV.
9. The Juco LB's looked very promising to me. They may have been out of position a few times but both will be very good contributors.
10. There is no doubt we have a lot more athletes than we have had in some time. Athletes don't automatically get you wins, but they can make big plays and that certainly was the case tonight.
11. Leidner is faster than I imagined. I know it was against 2nd teamers but still.
12. It was good to get a lot of guys playing time. Let them all get their feet wet so the "butterflies" aren't there when they have to step in for an injury.
13. Hawthorne did not look good. Even some of the XP he made looked pretty shaky.
14. Vereen could have an all-conference type year.

That's it for now. Good win but a lot of things to work on. Good thing the Big Ten isn't stupid like the SEC and schedule conference games in week 1. On to New Mexico St!

I'm in complete agreement on all of these, except for 9, 10, and 14. As another comment, I felt the Gophers received several "homer" calls from the refs over the course of the game, but none more blatant than the obvious false start on the TD play just before half.

As for #4, that was an atrocious play by Shabazz, what the hell was he doing? It was bad enough that the QB rolled away from him and he made a half-assed attempt to follow the receiver across the field, but then he topped it off by not paying attention to the play; all he had to do was notice that the ball was thrown to make an easy knock-down or pick.

The Gophers' LB #26 got lit up on a broken outside UNLV running play where the RB was running laterally along the line of scrimmage, stopped, and 26 just stood still 4 yards away while the RB paused, then got juked badly on one move and got beat for a 5-yard gain. I have to believe that is not how he's been taught to tackle.

 

[drinks at Northpoint]

Receivers weren't getting any separation.

Most passes were jump balls.

Two players that stood out physically lengz



were Shede and Maxx Williams.

 

[gophers&guns]

I'm sorry, it may be the beer talking, but I'm thoroughly ashamed of the fans that left in the third of late in the fourth. Now I don't post a lot, but after spending a year away struggling to listen to games on the radio it's sad to see that once the team is up the way they were everyone left. I know we expect this but after years of crap it would seem one would enjoy staying the game. We complain about the students non-stop, but being able to see the block M or Minnesota in the seats is an embarrassment, you pay a ton of money for those seats and it's a shame you cant sit and enjoy a whole game. Yes this is a rant but this needs to change, we want a team like Nebraska or Ohio State but our fans dip out as soon as it gets good similar to when it gets bad. Sit your butts down and watch the game and set an example for the students! Wake up Gopher fans, we could have it a lot worse!

 

[GophersInIowa]

I'm in complete agreement on all of these, except for 9, 10, and 14. As another comment, I felt the Gophers received several "homer" calls from the refs over the course of the game, but none more blatant than the obvious false start on the TD play just before half.

As for #4, that was an atrocious play by Shabazz, what the hell was he doing? It was bad enough that the QB rolled away from him and he made a half-assed attempt to follow the receiver across the field, but then he topped it off by not paying attention to the play; all he had to do was notice that the ball was thrown to make an easy knock-down or pick.

The Gophers' LB #26 got lit up on a broken outside UNLV running play where the RB was running laterally along the line of scrimmage, stopped, and 26 just stood still 4 yards away while the RB paused, then got juked badly on one move and got beat for a 5-yard gain. I have to believe that is not how he's been taught to tackle.

I think Campbell and Wilson at least have the ability to be good to very good LB's. They just look like they are very athletic. I'm surprised you don't think we are more athletic than in the past. To me it is obvious we have faster players. Unfortunately not too many of them are playing WR.

It may not be first team all conference, but Vereen will be a very good player for us. He made some very nice plays tonight.

Can I add another point? Whether you love him or hate him, doesn't everyone else get sick of them talking about Mason's former teams all the time? We get it, he had a lot of 1,000 rushers.

 

[upnorthkid]

I'm sorry, it may be the beer talking, but I'm thoroughly ashamed of the fans that left in the third of late in the fourth. Now I don't post a lot, but after spending a year away struggling to listen to games on the radio it's sad to see that once the team is up the way they were everyone left. I know we expect this but after years of crap it would seem one would enjoy staying the game. We complain about the students non-stop, but being able to see the block M or Minnesota in the seats is an embarrassment, you pay a ton of money for those seats and it's a shame you cant sit and enjoy a whole game. Yes this is a rant but this needs to change, we want a team like Nebraska or Ohio State but our fans dip out as soon as it gets good similar to when it gets bad. Sit your butts down and watch the game and set an example for the students! Wake up Gopher fans, we could have it a lot worse!

agree 100%. pay for the whole game. come to the whole game. stay for the whole game no matter what.

 

[GophersInIowa]

I'm sorry, it may be the beer talking, but I'm thoroughly ashamed of the fans that left in the third of late in the fourth. Now I don't post a lot, but after spending a year away struggling to listen to games on the radio it's sad to see that once the team is up the way they were everyone left. I know we expect this but after years of crap it would seem one would enjoy staying the game. We complain about the students non-stop, but being able to see the block M or Minnesota in the seats is an embarrassment, you pay a ton of money for those seats and it's a shame you cant sit and enjoy a whole game. Yes this is a rant but this needs to change, we want a team like Nebraska or Ohio State but our fans dip out as soon as it gets good similar to when it gets bad. Sit your butts down and watch the game and set an example for the students! Wake up Gopher fans, we could have it a lot worse!

"Beat the traffic....beat the traffic....beat the traffic!"

Yeah it doesn't make sense to me either but I only get to one or two games a year usually.

 

[gophers&guns]

"Beat the traffic....beat the traffic....beat the traffic!"

Yeah it doesn't make sense to me either but I only get to one or two games a year usually.

Better a few games and enjoying the whole thing then bailing out when the team you "support" is up by a bit. I'm an unemployed graduate that still shells out the money for 4 season tickets, plus 5 extra tickets and some decent spots in the Ski-U-Mah lot, just for this week, but I want my monies worth and will not leave before the clock hits 00:00. I was so disgusted to find out my brother left in the third that I told him he would no longer receive tickets from me.

 

[DarrenTheGreek]

My 7 year old son and 9 year old daughter both asked "Why would people want to leave early?" Exactly. I told my brother it baffles me why people would want to leave early. How often are we ever up 28 points? Enjoy it people!

 

[station19]

Great score

I was hoping for more from both O line and D line. I have some concerns there.

WR's need to get more separation.

Hope Kirkwood is OK

 

[cncmin]

I think Campbell and Wilson at least have the ability to be good to very good LB's. They just look like they are very athletic. I'm surprised you don't think we are more athletic than in the past. To me it is obvious we have faster players. Unfortunately not too many of them are playing WR.

It may not be first team all conference, but Vereen will be a very good player for us. He made some very nice plays tonight.

Can I add another point? Whether you love him or hate him, doesn't everyone else get sick of them talking about Mason's former teams all the time? We get it, he had a lot of 1,000 rushers.

I'd agree with you that we have a select few players who are very very fast. But other than those few I don't see any more speed than, say, team's of the past decade. For example, I'd argue that Brewster's second squad (the 7-win team) had more overall speed than this one. Or maybe I'm confusing my perception of quickness with what you're referring to as straight speed.

As for Mason, I think he does a great job as an announcer for Gopher games. I hope he continues to do them. I'm sure it's a strange situation for him, yet he always displays a positive attitude toward the U, no snarky comments even when they're readily available.

 

[Buck_Buchanan]

1. Number of factors into that decision. Agree with you for the most part but they still ended up getting 6 on the board.
2. Take your word for that one.
3. Hoping they weren't showing too much in terms of scheme
4. Happened right in front of us and you're absolutely correct! Shabbaz was yanked and didn't return (that I noticed) until he scooped and scored on that block.
5. Yes, he is
6. I noticed nobody downfield on the in stadium replay either.

 

[GophersInIowa]

I'd agree with you that we have a select few players who are very very fast. But other than those few I don't see any more speed than, say, team's of the past decade. For example, I'd argue that Brewster's second squad (the 7-win team) had more overall speed than this one. Or maybe I'm confusing my perception of quickness with what you're referring to as straight speed.

As for Mason, I think he does a great job as an announcer for Gopher games. I hope he continues to do them. I'm sure it's a strange situation for him, yet he always displays a positive attitude toward the U, no snarky comments even when they're readily available.

I agree that he does a good job. I just think they bring it up over and over (not always Mason's fault).

 

[thailleagle]

I can't say that I agree about our WR's... or at least I didn't see enough to believe they're not capable...

I don't think its so much as not being able to get separation because it was a few times where a receiver had a few steps on the defender but the ball just wasn't put in the right spot such as the interception in the first quarter. It could've easily been a big gain had the ball been thrown to the outside shoulder in my opinion.

Maybe different routes that play into our strengths? I highly doubt UNLV's WR core is superior to our DB's but it did seem like they threw a lot of safe routes that kept our Defense on its heels...

 

[GophersInIowa]

I can't say that I agree about our WR's... or at least I didn't see enough to believe they're not capable...

I don't think its so much as not being able to get separation because it was a few times where a receiver had a few steps on the defender but the ball just wasn't put in the right spot such as the interception in the first quarter. It could've easily been a big gain had the ball been thrown to the outside shoulder in my opinion.

Maybe different routes that play into our strengths? I highly doubt UNLV's WR core is superior to our DB's but it did seem like they threw a lot of safe routes that kept our Defense on its heels...

I agree 100% that ball wasn't put where it should have been. But I also think that if Engel attacked the ball like the defender did, at the very least it would have been incomplete.

 

[RodentRampage]

Better a few games and enjoying the whole thing then bailing out when the team you "support" is up by a bit. I'm an unemployed graduate that still shells out the money for 4 season tickets, plus 5 extra tickets and some decent spots in the Ski-U-Mah lot, just for this week, but I want my monies worth and will not leave before the clock hits 00:00. I was so disgusted to find out my brother left in the third that I told him he would no longer receive tickets from me.

Leaving early because you're winning big just baffles me. You paid for the whole game, why not watch it all? I'd rather continue to celebrate the win with my fellow Gopher fans than to leave to beat the traffic.

 

[tikited]

Leaving early because you're winning big just baffles me. You paid for the whole game, why not watch it all? I'd rather continue to celebrate the win with my fellow Gopher fans than to leave to beat the traffic.

Never happened. No one beats the traffic!

 

[GophersInIowa]

Leaving early because you're winning big just baffles me. You paid for the whole game, why not watch it all? I'd rather continue to celebrate the win with my fellow Gopher fans than to leave to beat the traffic.

And unless you are the first of the firsts to leave, you usually end up sitting in traffic anyways.

 

[thailleagle]

I agree 100% that ball wasn't put where it should have been. But I also think that if Engel attacked the ball like the defender did, at the very least it would have been incomplete.

He doesn't seem very aggressive at going to "get" the ball when its up for grabs I've noticed... but he seems to have the solid hands of the core right now...

 

[cncmin]

And unless you are the first of the firsts to leave, you usually end up sitting in traffic anyways.

soooo, quick observational comment as someone who has attended their share of outdoor games at Beaver Stadium - even the PSU crowd heads out early, and few there are heading out to beat traffic; rather, perhaps they're weather-weary, or better yet, want to get back to the tailgating party. While I'm not one to want to leave early, I also can't blame others for doing so if the game is a blowout; the end of those games is pretty much a snoozer for the team that's ahead, with conservative playcalling (runs up the gut).

Unfortunately for those that left early, they missed Leidner's TD, and his outstanding reaction afterwards for doing so. He was so very happy for scoring his first TD, and so were his teammates so very happy for him. Really was a great scene that captures the essence of what college football really is (or at least can be).

 

[gopherinpain]

#1 concern like it was last year is offensive production. Nelson was shaky at best in the pocket and his WRs are very average. I pray Harbison is a stud and Andre can work his way back. The top B10 DLs will handle our OL in the running game and we will be forced to pass. I am really worried about our ability to create explosive plays in the passing game, which will lead to easier TD drives.

San Jose State can really put up points and I can guarantee we will not score 3 SpT/Def TDs a game.

 

[cncmin]

#1 concern like it was last year is offensive production. Nelson was shaky at best in the pocket and his WRs are very average. I pray Harbison is a stud and Andre can work his way back. The top B10 DLs will handle our OL in the running game and we will be forced to pass. I am really worried about our ability to create explosive plays in the passing game, which will lead to easier TD drives.

San Jose State can really put up points and I can guarantee we will not score 3 SpT/Def TDs a game.

You sound like someone a bit skeptical of the hype and jubilation surrounding the 28-point demolition that the scoreboard declares occurred tonight. Shame on you!

 

[Cayman]

I'm sorry, it may be the beer talking, but I'm thoroughly ashamed of the fans that left in the third of late in the fourth. Now I don't post a lot, but after spending a year away struggling to listen to games on the radio it's sad to see that once the team is up the way they were everyone left. I know we expect this but after years of crap it would seem one would enjoy staying the game. We complain about the students non-stop, but being able to see the block M or Minnesota in the seats is an embarrassment, you pay a ton of money for those seats and it's a shame you cant sit and enjoy a whole game. Yes this is a rant but this needs to change, we want a team like Nebraska or Ohio State but our fans dip out as soon as it gets good similar to when it gets bad. Sit your butts down and watch the game and set an example for the students! Wake up Gopher fans, we could have it a lot worse!

I think it's because for a lot of people, maybe this applies more to students, they go to the games because it's something fun to do with friends, not because they are just hardcore Gopher football fans. I'd say most of the freshmen probably have no idea what our record even was last year and likewise do not know if we are going to struggle to escape the non-conference with a winning record or cruise to 10 wins and a BCS bowl bid.

Last year at the Purdue game, the entire group of 10 or so that I went with left after the 3rd quarter when we were up 44-14 or something like that, because to them, they knew the outcome of the game and therefore the rest was not worth seeing. Some of them said they wouldn't have minded staying, but left because everyone else did. So I stayed out there by myself in the cold and sang Hail Minnesota afterward.

They probably want to see the Gophers win, but aren't entertained so much if it's not a tight one. If we were to beat Wisconsin by 4 touchdowns this year, I'm sure just about everyone on this board would stay for all 60 glorious minutes, but I'm positive that a certain portion of the students, and perhaps non-students as well, would leave 10+ minutes before the end of the game because they know who's going to win, the game is well in hand, and they have no idea that we haven't beaten Wisconsin in a decade, so in their minds it's simply not worth watching at that point.

And in defense of the "beat the traffic" brigade, after being in the car for 50 minutes tonight, I could still see the stadium lights about 2 blocks away. Took about an hour just to get back on the highway.

 

[gopherinpain]

You sound like someone a bit skeptical of the hype and jubilation surrounding the 28-point demolition that the scoreboard declares occurred tonight. Shame on you!

I was at the game. The crowd was into it. The student section was loud. Fun atmosphere(despite the hot, sweaty clusterf#@k in the stands). Unless huge strides our taken by Limegrover and the boys, I see 2 B10 wins again. Iowa and @Indiana/PSU. Really hope I am wrong.